Subaru Outback 4x4 review - Carbuyer

The latest Subaru Outback is a competent off-roader that will make a reliable and practical family car, but it still lacks the style of many its rivals.

The Subaru Legacy Outback was first introduced 25 years ago, when it was arguably the first estate car to be given the styling of an off-road vehicle. Fast-forward to today and Subaru has introduced the fifth generation of the Outback. The company has succeeded in improving the previous model's looks and it has added some new technology and given the interior a much-needed upgrade.

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[oddities-whatnot]

I got one of these in tungsten recently, low miles 66 plate (UK). Brilliant car. It has plenty enough power, the CVT is great, its smooth and relaxing to drive, it can cope with anything and everything and will hopefully last me a long time while the car industry messes about with EVs for the next ten to fifteen years until they get it right.

[mowcowbell]

Great car, I own one. I have the 2.5L Limited model. Quite a few differences in the Outback sold in the USA. We have no diesel option, and no manual transmission. We only have the CVT automatic transmission. There is a 3.6L boxer 6 option, but at a significant cost in fuel economy. I'm averaging about 8.4L per 100km with the 2.5L, which is very economical for the size of this vehicle.

[wisecountryman]

I think this car clicks the most boxes of any car. It's a wagon(very specious), it's a japanese(reliable), it's well equiped, it's tall, it's fast enough, not too big, for wheel drive and it looks good. Don't know how service and mpg's are but this care ticks a lot of boxes.

[tim_ashton]

anyone see her miss the door handle when first going in the car?
0:36

[glassman]

You can get this car for well under 20K quid in the States. Also, with petrol at less than 38p/litre, fuel economy isn't as big of an issue here. CO2 is bad, but the States is extremely strict in regulating NO2 in cars, leading to almost no diesels with its associated smog. Thank you VW. Size is good, as at least in the burbs, there's no need for on street parking. And with the DC area receiving 3 feet (90 cm.) of snow last winter in one go, nothing beats a Subie in the snow. The sales figures are telling. Subaru outsold VW by hundreds of thousands of units in the States last year.

[IliescuBenyamin]

I love the design. How can you say it looks dated?
I believe that Subaru makes more sense in USA where they are a bit cheaper.
This one i believe it's a rival for the Skoda Supeb wich also offers A6 interior space for A4 money, but the Superb does not come in any off-road version.

[aleksandarpopov]

Main market for this model is the US, hence it's equipped with SiriusXM radio. No DAB, true, but saying there's no digital/satellite radio is not true. The brakes cannot be tuned to be all too shallow and light, for an off-road capable vehicle you cannot afford to have breaks that do not have fine granularity. That means it's going to have that progressive response and not the 1/0 response of some other road cars.

[ZacharyT]

Must suck for the UK that they don't get the 3.6R like Australia does, it's a great engine for the Outback.

[Muushondje]

Superb car for country sports loving people.

[yjonesh]

They should show someone siting in the car who's at least 6ft to judge how much room is in the car. It's really hard to tell when she's 5ft4. Its nice to know how much room there is when I'm 6ft5.

[inoxck]

This engine is dated 2.5i 175, low mpg, higher taxes, and because it's not turbocharged the low rpm low torque makes it slower. The exterior general line is nice but the interior isn't exciting. Not sure how reliable are the cvt's. She says the steering is not great. The price is rather high. This car only makes sense in areas with difficult terrain or snow like Alaska.

[JackInDaBoxx]

Diesel better for towing? yet on the subaru website it says the petrol can tow half a tonne more than the diesel

[Oblio]

God Damn thats a big car, what happened to outbacks being basically little imprezas and legacys??

[deadkemper]

gonna point out the amc Eagle was probable the first pumped up estate with the off road treatment

[FiredEmpire]

Audi A6 all road capability, VW Golf Variant price

[yourcrapp]

i would like to see a review of the new levorg

[eternalhalloween]

I kind of like the interior. It has a cool late 70s look to it. But they could have at least put a radio/cd player in.

[jamiep]

I like Subaru Outback 4x4 review - Carbuyer

[Megadriver]

Punchier? I've driven a Lineartronic diesel Outback and found it slow and sluggish. 150hp is not enough for this car. If you are like me and have a heavier right foot and have a sportier driving style, you won't be happy.
You floor it, you get lots of rpms and noise and slow acceleration. I think it should have at the very least 200 horsepower to be enjoyable and agile. A 230-250hp diesel engine would be ideal.

The AWD system is superb, the design is nice, the interior feels nice. But all of this paired with an underpowered engine and a soft CVT takes away the fun. It's better than the last gen Outback, but still needs more power.

[meisammozafari]

What year duck head should include that always in title